South Africa
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Abolitionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Under white minority rule, the apartheid-era National...
- News items in the archive
- 202
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
South Africa is classified as Abolitionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 202 news items on South Africa, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- AUGUST 10, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) called...
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) called on the New National Party (NNP) to disband after its leader promoted the reinstatement of the death penalty in his Women's Day message
- AUGUST 9, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The murder and possible rape of former first lady Marike...
The murder and possible rape of former first lady Marike de Klerk strengthened the New National Party's case for the reinstatement of the death penalty, NNP leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said
- AUGUST 9, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa should impose the death penalty on criminals...
South Africa should impose the death penalty on criminals who committed murder, rape and armed robbery to protect the lives of its citizens, especially women, an opposition party leader said
- JULY 26, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
A South African man was sentenced to life imprisonment...
A South African man was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a nine-month-old baby, in an attack which outraged the country known for its high levels of violent crime
- JULY 11, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
An Amnesty International report said torture and ill-treatment...
An Amnesty International report said torture and ill-treatment are the most frequently reported human-rights violations committed by police in Southern Africa
- JUNE 25, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
In South Africa, scores of Eastern Cape citizens marched...
In South Africa, scores of Eastern Cape citizens marched to the East London Magistrate's Court to express their intolerance at the attacks on farmers and businessmen in the province
- APRIL 25, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution...
South Africa was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 16, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) called on the...
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) called on the South African government to reconsider the death penalty before vigilantism overtook the justice system
- FEBRUARY 4, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
More than 800 people protesting outside the Kokstad...
More than 800 people protesting outside the Kokstad Magistrate's Court in KwaZulu-Natal were overjoyed at the court's decision not to grant bail to eight murder suspects
- JANUARY 18, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Six South African men accused of raping a nine-month-old...
Six South African men accused of raping a nine-month-old baby in October 2001 were freed by a court in Upington after insufficient evidence was gathered for the case to proceed
- JANUARY 10, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Two Botswana fugitives were extradited back to the...
Two Botswana fugitives were extradited back to the Botswana from South Africa, the Department of Home Affairs said
- JANUARY 1, 2002South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa, throughout four decades of institutionalized...
South Africa, throughout four decades of institutionalized racial discrimination, South Africa became one of the world's leading execution centers
- DECEMBER 28, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
In his New Year's message, South African President...
In his New Year's message, South African President Thabo Mbeki called on all South Africans to play a part in fighting the scourge of child rapes in the country
- DECEMBER 28, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The South African Department of Home Affairs wants...
The South African Department of Home Affairs wants an assurance from the Botswana government that two of that country's fugitives being held in South Africa will not be hanged if they are extradited
- DECEMBER 24, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South Africa's opposition parties urged the government...
South Africa's opposition parties urged the government to let the public decide whether to reinstate capital punishment, amid increasing calls for the return of death penalty in the country
- DECEMBER 16, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Rapists, especially those who raped young children,...
Rapists, especially those who raped young children, should be given the death sentence, said Sylvia Farmer, whose teenage daughter Valencia Farmer was gang-raped, stabbed numerous times and left dead in a derelict house on the Cape Flats
- DECEMBER 15, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Western Cape Premier Peter Marais called for the re-instatement...
Western Cape Premier Peter Marais called for the re-instatement of the death penalty in order to end a spate of murders and rapes, the SABC reported
- DECEMBER 13, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
An angry crowd called for the reinstatement of the...
An angry crowd called for the reinstatement of the death penalty during the court appearance of an Eastern Cape child rapist Vusumzi Stena
- DECEMBER 11, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
About 150 residents of the South African town of Kraaifontein,...
About 150 residents of the South African town of Kraaifontein, including at least 70 children, marched to the local police station saying "enough is enough" and demanding that the death penalty be reinstated after the murder of a nine-year-old Kraaifontei
- DECEMBER 10, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma called for...
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma called for stiffer sentences for those found guilty of rape and murder in response to a spate of child rapes in which three babies were the latest victims
- DECEMBER 10, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South African President Thabo Mbeki began his first...
South African President Thabo Mbeki began his first trip to China aimed at building ties and expanding business between two countries which normalized relations less than four years ago
- DECEMBER 9, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Inkatha Freedom Party called on government to bring...
The Inkatha Freedom Party called on government to bring back the death penalty following the death of one of its Soweto branch leaders over the weekend
- DECEMBER 6, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
South African traditional leaders called for a referendum...
South African traditional leaders called for a referendum on the reinstatement of death penalty for rapists
- DECEMBER 6, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
KwaZulu-Natal agriculture and environmental affairs...
KwaZulu-Natal agriculture and environmental affairs MEC Narend Singh called for the return of death penalty for serious crimes such as murder
- DECEMBER 4, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Outraged by the escalating incidence of baby rapes...
Outraged by the escalating incidence of baby rapes in South Africa, the Traditional and Faith Healers Association said perpetrators should either receive the death sentence or be castrated
- DECEMBER 4, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The increase of child rapes and abuse in South Africa...
The increase of child rapes and abuse in South Africa was an indictment of the country, African National Congress president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said
- DECEMBER 4, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The opposition Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) said it...
The opposition Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) said it wanted the death penalty imposed against child rapists
- DECEMBER 3, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The Inkatha Freedom Party said that South Africans...
The Inkatha Freedom Party said that South Africans should be allowed a referendum to vote on whether the death penalty should be reinstated for child rapists
- DECEMBER 2, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The African National Congress Youth League said it...
The African National Congress Youth League said it would stage protests at the justice departments in the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to highlight women and child abuse
- NOVEMBER 27, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
A South African man, Bongani Mkhwanazi, escaped the...
A South African man, Bongani Mkhwanazi, escaped the gallows in Swaziland, SABC radio news reported